By Melissa Koh

Naft Thiam is a Belgian athlete specializing in multi-event competition. As of August 2017, Thiam holds the Belgian record in women's heptathlon and women's Javelin. She won the gold medal in the heptathlon at both the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2017 World Championships. She was voted IAAF World Athlete of the Year in 2017.

She is the first female athlete to join the team of Richard Mille athletes alongside her male counterparts, Mutaz Essa Barshim, Yohan Blake and Wayde Van Niekerk.

At only 23 years old, her list of achievements makes her one of the world leaders in athletics.

However, Nafi prefers to talk about her objectives rather than medals won in the past. It was for this reason that she preferred not to participate in the 2018 World Indoor Championships but to concentrate on the European Championship in Berlin.

Richard Mille himself was immediately drawn to the determination and capacity of this young athlete. Heptathlon is by far one of the most complex disciplines in athletics and the heptathletes themselves are considered as the most complete athletes.

"What enticed me to work with Nafi, was her vision and her approach to performance. She has a strong analytical sense and does not rush herself," explains Richard Mille. "I endorse the idea that it is most important to look for ways to surpass yourself in order to become the best and accept the time that this might take."

Nafi Thiam will wear an automatic lightweight and resistant Richard Mille watch.

"I am proud of my partnership with Richard Mille and to work with this extraordinary team with whom I share the same desire to always aim higher and push to the limits."

In the same way Richard Mille developed the RM 67-02 Automatic in Quartz TPT® with Mutaz and Wayde, Richard Mille is currently thinking about a sports watch uniquely for women.